Hospital is sixth in Texas to adopt new remote monitoring device for heart failure

June 24, 2015 ­- Scott & White Memorial – Temple for the first time implanted a new miniaturized, wireless monitoring sensor to help manage heart failure (HF). Scott & White Memorial is one of six hospitals in Texas and the first hospital in the Baylor Scott & White Health system to offer the device.

"We are always looking for new and innovative ways to treat our patient's disease process and improve outcomes for heart failure patients," said Robert Scott III, M.D., director for advanced heart failure at Scott & White Memorial. "This device will give us the ability to anticipate problems with our patients before they occur, decreasing their chance of being re-admitted to the hospital, and improving their quality of life."

The device is a sensor that is implanted in the pulmonary artery (PA) during a minimally invasive procedure. Once implanted, the device can measure and transmit PA pressure from the patient back to their healthcare team. Elevation in PA pressure appears even before changes in weight and blood pressure in the patient, which are traditionally used as indirect measures of worsening heart failure. The new system allows patients to transmit daily sensor readings from their homes to their healthcare providers allowing for personalized and proactive management to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization and onset of debilitating symptoms.

"Heart failure can rob patients' quality of life and frequently results in repeated hospitalizations," said John Erwin III, M.D., cardiologist at Scott & White Memorial. "We think that we can provide significantly improved quality of life by partnering with the patient in acting preventatively as opposed to responding when an adverse event occurs."

For more information: www.sw.org

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A PET scan detects clumping proteins in rat hearts (top). The enlarged heart (right) is one with heart failure. Other PET scans showing blood flow in the rat hearts (bottom) show that the protein clumps aren't due to circulation problems. Image courtesy of Circulation Research, May 11, 2018.

The CORolla device from Israel-based CorAssist is one example of new devices being manufactured and tested to treat heart failure. The efficacy of this and other new devices under development can now be assessed with the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire.